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[beebs]

Okay, so I figure if I cut down my summaries to cover just each issue, maybe I'll be more likely to actually do them? November 1980 was 16 pages long, and my eyes were watering just thinking about it, so here's Part 1 of November 1980, which would be Gary Tomlin/Michelle Poteet-Lisanti's first full month as HWs.

 

 

PART 1 (October 27 – November 4-ish)

Marlena tries to convince Don to go to Kellam’s 21^st birthday shindig for his kid who we can’t figure out the spelling of. Don won’t do it, so Marlena goes on her own. Kellam is thrilled, but Marlena explains the reason Don won’t come is because he caught Kellam kissing Marlena.

 

At home Don is caring for Johnny who has exactly zero time for Don.

 

After the party, Marlena tells Don that Kellam has offered Marlena a permanent position on his team after the election. Don is pissed off, yet again, bloviating about how the DA’s wife can’t work for the governor because it’s a conflict of interest. Apparently Don’s never heard of a soft touch.

 

 

Rando dayplayer Mark brings Jessica to Tod’s party, as per Todd’s plan. Todd leads Jessica to greet Kellam, and Rando mark makes a beeline for the door so that Tod can have some alone time with Jess. Todd’s a big fibber and tells Jessica that Cassie’s been invited (she hasn’t). His fib comes out after about eight drinks, prompting Jessica to feel sorry for Cassie and put off by Tttodd.

Dayplayer Mark flees to the disco, where he runs into Cassie.  When another random dayplayer friend of theirs mentions the party to Cassie, Cassie realizes something is up and decides to crash the party and make a huge scene.

Back at the Chandler mansion, Kellam makes a toast to the drunkard he bore, and the drunkard announces that he’s gonna marry Jessica. Jessica runs away in response, because, even in 1980, consent is still key. Outside the mansion, Jessica gets some more practice sobbing, when Tod comes out. Jess asks how he could embarrass her like that in front of everyone, to which Toddd tells her it was to get even with Kellam for making his 21^st birthday into a society event for his campaign, but, like…also that he does want to marry her?? Because that’s supposed to make it alright. Jessica runs off again, and, by the lake, they run into a drunk Cassie. Cassie accuses Ttod of stringing her along when he really wants Jessica, and accuses Jessica of putting on a Little Miss Innocent act, shouting “all the nuns taught was was how to be a liar and a slut!”

Tod then thinks it’s a good idea to put the two girls on a boat together? Then lets Jessica off the boat? Maybe he figured Cassie was drunk enough that Jessica would push her overboard?? I’m confused as to why SOD felt I needed to know this information, but anyway.

 

Julie tells Mrs. Chisholm that she knows Joshua is Sunny’s son. Mrs. Chisholm nearly has a coronary, and begs Julie to stop Josh from seeking revenge against Kellam (even though Kellam absolutely deserves to be revenged against). Julie agrees.

Mickey tells Josh that Mrs. Chisholm’s story isn’t enough to have Kellam arrested, so Josh does the most logical thing and goes and gets his gun. When Julie goes looking for Josh to stop him revenging at Kellam, she finds an empty room, and an empty gun holster. She panics and runs out into the street, looking for both. Julie manages to chase him all the way to the Chandler house, where she calls out to him before he reaches the door, and tells Josh she knows he’s Sunny’s son. Josh stops and tells Julie he must kill the man who killed his mother. Julie tells him that’s a terrible idea, that Sunny would think it was a terrible idea, and that his bestie/brother Todd would definitely think it’s a bad idea. Josh thinks Tod would probably think it was an a-ok idea, since Ttod doesn’t exactly LOVE Kellam, but he agrees not to kill the a$$h0le, regardless.

 

After promising not to shoot Kellam, Josh asks Julie to go back to Flora. Julie thinks THAT’S a bad idea too, but goes along with what Josh asked of her, anyway. Josh, thankfully, doesn’t shoot up the party, instead taking a walk along the lake, where he sees Tod alone on his boat (guess he pushed Cassie overboard LOL). SOD says that as Josh watches Todd, two strangers watch Josh! From where, who or why, I have no idea, but anyway. They beat Josh up and throw his body in the lake to drown. Julie hunts for him when he doesn’t come home that night and finds him, sending him to UH in an ambulance, where Neil says he’s badly banged up, but he’ll be okay.

 

Tod comes back from the boat and tells Max about Cassie and the boat. Mustache Twirler #2 tells Todd to pretend nothing is wrong and that there is no Cassie. Jessica later asks Ttod where Cassie is. Toodd tells Jess that he and Cassie broke up, and that he will “never see her again”. Ominous.

 

Jessica cries to Alice, who tries to give advice to the mousy little whiner, but she won’t listen, so Alice goes to Marie and asks MARIE to talk to her kid, saying that if Marie had listened to her mother years ago, she’dve been spared a lot of miserable years. Marie agrees.

Jessica tells Marie she’s worried about Cassie’s disappearance. When Marie tries to be comforting, her brat daughter snaps at her, wondering why Marie’s being so nice now. Marie apologizes for being distant, and that she can’t explain why she’s been that way, but tells Jessica she does love her. Jessica screams at Marie, wondering how Marie can treat someone she loves that way?

 

After Jessica again asks Toddd where the hell Cassie is, he finally breaks down and tells her she’s dead. After letting Jess off the boat, the two drunks took off on Tod’s boat and argued, first about Cassie not being invited to Ttod’s party, then about who loved who. Cassie loved Todd, but Tod loved Jessica, and Jessica loves Josh (and the cycle continues). Cassie stood up, a wave hit, she fell overboard, and Tod hasn’t seen or heard from her since. Bye Cassie!

 

Jessica tells Todd to call the cops, but Tod doesn’t want the publicity and worries he’ll go to jail for killing her. Jess is apparently about to have an aneurysm at the news, and orders Tood leave her apartment.

 

Alex is next up to bat in this edition of “Let’s Harass Marie About Seeing Her Annoying Child”, telling Marie that he’s concerned for Jessica and hopes Marie can reach out to her. Marie won’t, instead asking Alex to be more of a surrogate father to Jessica instead, and still won’t tell Alex why. He knows she’s holding something back from him, and he’s determined to figure out what it could be.

 

Alex then goes to Kellam and talks tough about keeping Kellam’s “punk kid” away from Jessica, which immediately arouses suspicion from Kellam, who wonders why Alex gives a $#!t.

 

THE CAT’S OUT OF THE BAG! Someone actually gave enough of a $#!t about Cassie to ask where she went, and now the papers are reporting her death. Thing 1 and Thing 2 are annoyed to find out that the papers are reporting Cassie’s body being found in the lake (guess it wasn’t the body they wanted found there). They’re extra-annoyed because the paper mentions Cassie’s connection to Todd! OOPS! JUST in time for Election Day, too! The press hound Kellam for a statement about Cassie’s death, but Kellam deftly dodges the questions, saying only that his son is in mourning, and that he hasn’t see Cassie in three weeks leading up to her death (that will come back to bite ya, for sure!)

Kellam’s also less-than-impressed to discover Josh’s rather grave condition, and scolds Max for ordering such an intense beating.

 

Max accompanies Tood to the station for questioning, where he coaches Ttod on what to tell the police (the baloney about not having seen Cassie in three weeks, she wasn’t on my boat, etc.) When questioned, Todd recites his answers like a pro, and lies further, telling the police that Jessica was his date, so now they’ll be questioning Jessica as well.

 

Alex helps Jessica work up the nerve to go to the police, who want Jess to make a statement about the night Cassie fell off the boat. Jessica debates telling them everything she knows. When Alex tells Marie about Jess being questioned, she suggests Mickey accompany Jessica to the police station. There, Tod pleads with Jessica to deny having seen Cassie that night. The dummy agrees, as Tod insists the police think Cassie’s death wasn’t an accident (well maybe if you’d said something in the last week or so???) Jessica says nothing.

 

Julie tells Flora about Josh’s beating, and she’s shocked, but knows exactly who is responsible, but Josh cannot corroborate anything, because he got beat so bad, he ended up forgetting the entire night! Hooray!

 

The Sleaze loses the election! Kellam blames Don! Marlena blames Don! Everybody blames Don! Liz visits Don to tell him that everybody blames him, and to ask why Don quit working for Kellam. Don tells her that he caught Kellam kissing Marlena. Liz sighs defeatedly, apologizes to Don, then goes home and tears a strip off Kellam for being a sleaze.

 

Max berates Kellam, calling him a ‘loser’. Kellam fires Max and tells him to get out of his house, to which Max reminds Kellam that he has too much on Kellam to leave now, and that from now on MAX runs the show, and will not be taking orders from…his…boss??? What a weird pair.

 

 

Liz still doesn’t believe Neil when he tries to tell her that he didn’t accept Kellam’s bribe.

Kurt Randall tries to convince Neil to join the next poker game, which means you KNOW Neil will eventually fall right back into old habits. After about thirty seconds of hesitation, Neil immediately withdraws $15,000 from the bank and goes a-gamblin’!

 

And loses every penny!

 

And more! Kurt gives him a deadline to pay up, causing Neil to call the bank for a loan. Here we go again.

 

 

 

 

Mary agrees to handle the PR for Chris’ marina project for free (until the marina turns a profit), pissing Leslie off because it’s yet another way Mary and Chris remain too close for her comfort. Chris agrees without consulting Leslie, making everything that much worse between them. Chris throws some platitudes at Leslie about her being the only woman for him, and all is forgiven.

 

Mary, meanwhile, heads to Doug’s Casino, and announces to Neil that she’s ready to resume all her old relationships (all at once? How modern of her). Chris and Leslie walk in at that exact moment. This…leads nowhere.

 

Later, at the marina, Leslie senses something is bothering Mary. Mary confesses she feels uncomfortable with Chris not knowing Alex bought the property. Leslie begs Mary not to tell Chris the truth, but Mary holds firm: either Leslie tells Chris the truth, or Mary will.

 

 

 

Trish, now free from her whiner husband, learns she’s off to LA to record a demo.








I see they're already cutting some of Laemmle's dead weight, as I'm fairly sure Leslie is on her way out soon as well. I'm pretty sure this is where temporary Mary steps in? It really does feel like there was plans to use Mary heavily under the new regime, possibly having her mix it up with Don and Neil from what I've been reading. I wonder why it didn't work out.

Edited March 7, 2021 by beebs

[Franko]

Welcome back!

 

I should feel sorry for Cassie, but this sounds hilarious.

 

This is another of those times where I wonder what's going on in Alice's inner monologue. I'm sure she's retroactively fed up with Marie and not exactly thrilled with obnoxious Jessica.

 

Seriously. I just cannot get a read on those two.

 

HAAHAHAAAHAA!

 

[victoria foxton]

@beebs Thanks! I know reading all that must be an undertaking. But your write-ups are a blast to read.

Edited March 7, 2021 by victoria foxton

[jam6242]

Thanks for the write-up @beebs.  I actually liked Jessica, but yes, she could be a bit prissy.  But that made her switch to bitchy Angel when she had DID more entertaining, lol.  I had a crush on Stephen Brooks (Joshua) from some prime-time shows I had seen him in, so anything he did on Days was okay with me. 

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  I did not enjoy the story with Don/Marlena/Kellam, at all.  Didn't like Don being involved in politics.  And I LOATHED little Johnny.  I was so glad when he was gone! 

[carolineg]

The Don/Marlena/Kellam stuff doesn't make sense to me.  Why does Kellam need a shrink on his campaign staff?  I get he has a thing for Marlena, but she has a real job lol.  Don also seems to be constantly annoyed with Marlena which makes me dislike them as a couple.

 

Thanks @beebs for the write up!  I always enjoy them.

[Khan]

 

Exactly.  The fact that Marlena took his job offer seriously tells me they were dumbing down that character long before JER entered the picture, lol.

[carolineg]

 

I think Marlena was fine in the 80's.  Still smart.  I think the Tale of 2 Roman's made her look like an idiot, tbh.  I mean, how did she not know John wasn't her husband Roman lol?  She didn't realize they were different when they had sex lol?

  She was dumb under JER, but others (John/Austin) were worse.  I still don't get the logic of keeping Kristen's secrets because of the stressful pregnancy.  Wouldn't keeping all those secrets be just as stressful to Kristen?   It never made any sense.  Nor did the fact that John and Marlena nearly swooned at each other's mere presence for years, yet didn't realize they both felt the same about one another, but that's a whole other thread.  

[Paul Raven]

February 1977

 Ed Mallory was in a reminiscing mood, recalling his move over from the role of Bill Riley in "Morning Star" to become Dr. Bill Horton back in 1966. Mallory had no idea he would play Bill Horton for what seems like forever, surviving four Laura Hortons over the distance. Ed remembers the first Laura, fragile Floy Dean, a "Morning Star" colleague who was regarded as "too soft" for the role of Dr. Laura. Blonde, tall Susan Flannery was more like it strong. After an eight-year run, Susan departed to be replaced by good actress Susan Oliver, who gave way last summer to tall, blonde Rosemary Forsyth. As Dr. Bill, Ed was asked to test with all the aspiring Lauras. Big ones, little ones all shapes and sizes have played the highly romanticized love scene between Bill and Laura, with Mallory taking home extra pay for the tests. Some weeks Ed made more money on tests than he did on the show. Ed realizes how cold it can be on the outside, working with the eager aspirants for the role of Laura, and he has mixed feelings about ever leaving "Days." Over the years, Dr. Bill has "mellowed," says Ed. "His inner fires have been quenched. Bill was an outspoken surgeon, and usually misunderstood. He used to get around more, and he knew everybody on the show. With the hour format which means no rehearsal the day before, and the larger cast, that's a little more difficult.

[teplin]

True, but Marlena started off with much higher intelligence than them, so the fall was steeper. 

[carolineg]

Fair, but Kristen would probably still be fooling John to this day without Marlena lol.  Everyone was dumb under JER: Hope, Jen, Bo.  The only people portrayed as smart were the villains.  And Laura, who figured a bunch of stuff out but no one believed her because she was crazy.

Not to get too far on a tangent, but one of the things I hated about JER is that his root for couples were at fault for the crazy.  If John/Marlena, Hope/Bo, and Jack/Jen just acted like adults and told one another their feelings all of this would have been avoided.  i get it's a soap, but it made everyone look extra dumb.  Carrie/Austin were the only couple I can recall being fairly transparent about their feelings for one another to Sami.

[beebs]

OKAY onto Part 2 of November 1980, and I gotta say I am seeing some improvements. Let's see what y'all think:

 

PART 2

 

(November 5-ish – November 19-ish)

 

Marlena is the queen of spite career moves, and accepts Kellam’s permanent position on his staff. Doing what, I have no idea because he DID NOT WIN the election, so I haven’t a clue what he needs a psychiatrist on staff for, particularly when he’s fully committed to being a complete sociopath, himself. Liz remarks that Marlena is being very loyal to Kellam, a statement so weighed down by innuendo, I’m amazed she was able to get it to sail right over Marlena’s head.

 

Don is, as per usual, pissed off at Marlena for taking the job, and tells her that she needs to quit ASAP, as he’s calling a formal inquest into Cassie’s death, and he can’t do that if she’s working for the slimebucket father of the guy who probably killed her. Marlena responds like a bratty teenager on the Jenny Jones show, and says Don’s just jealous of her relationship with Kellam, and refuses to quit her pointless job working for a sociopath, instead demanding Don quit as DA. She tells him that she won’t readjust her entire life around Don’s wants just to appease a cheating husband. Don gets fed up by Marlena’s obstinance, packs a bag and moves into the Salem Inn.

 

When asked by Johnny why the grumpy guy with the perm left in a huff, Marlena explains to Johnny that Don needed time alone to think. Johnny thinks he left because of him (I’m sure it didn’t help matters, but no, it isn’t all about you, Johnny). He then asks if Marlena’s leaving as well, and Marlena hugs him and promises she won’t (who’s gonna pay rent on this place if Marlena moves out as well??)

 

 

 

 

 

Don, as well as the Salem PD, are certain that Cassie’s death was a result of foul play, and they’re certain Tod had something to do with it, citing inconsistencies between Tod’s accounting of events and eyewitness accounts that say that Cassie was drunkenly headed for Tod’s that night to crash his party.

 

Incidentally, we finally get a consistent spelling on Tod’s name. It’s…one D. Which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I shall pronounce his name “toad”. I may even start writing it as such, because I am a sh!t disturber like that. Anyway…

 

Jessica is served with a restraining order. Not from anyone in particular, just from the bits of land that are not inside the Salem city limit. I did not know borders could issue restraining orders, but…hey, you learn something new every day. Jessica has another aneurysm, as Alice talks her down, telling her that if she tells the truth, everything will turn out fine.

 

After Alice stops Jessica from freaking out, Jessica calls Toad over to try to convince him to stop lying so that maybe they can stop being suspects at some point. Toad insists they keep lying because if no one breaks rank, he won’t look like the prime suspect. I guess instead, he would rather they ALL be suspects together and the cops won’t be able to pinpoint just him! Yes, I believe he IS, in fact, sober when he visits Jessica, so we can’t blame the sauce for his complete lack of common sense.

 

Alice tells Marie about Jessica’s restraining order, and Marie wants to go comfort Jessica. Alice suggests she don’t, because she may reveal that she’s Marie’s daughter, and you know how Jessica reacts to any and all adverse news. Marie agrees, against her better judgment. Mickey tells Alice and Marie that the police think Jessica is lying to protect Toad (you know, because she IS). Marie calls Alex to try to talk to Jess to get the truth out of her. He agrees.

 

When Alex does visit Jessica, she tries to convince him that she’s telling the whole truth, but Alex knows better, and scolds her for protecting Toad. Jessica cracks, and admits she lied, that Cassie was with Toad the night of the party, but insists her drowning was an accident. Alex isn’t so sure, and tells Jessica as much. Big mistake, as Jessica instinctively stands up for Toad, and stubbornly announces she will keep lying to protect him from going to jail.

 

Max suggests to Kellam that Toad might have actually killed Cassie and that it wasn’t an accident. But he and Kellam also thinks that the police are only suspecting Toad because of Don’s call for an inquest, and that Don only did THAT as revenge against Kellam for kissing Marlena.

 

OOPS! Cassie was pregnant when she died! This’ll give Toad even more motive to kill her. It just gets worse and worse for the guy, doesn’t it? As Mickey and Don talk about this, Mickey asks about Marlena, and Don admits they’ve separated. Mickey suggests Don go see Marlena and have a talk to try to patch things up. Don decides to do just that.

 

At the same time, Kellam is having a similar conversation with Marlena, and even suggests she quit her job working for him to try to relieve any tension between Marlena and Don. Marlena tells him it doesn’t matter, since she and Don have separated. Kellam pretends to be really sad about this, just as Don walks in, immediately misinterprets the scene before him, and huffily announces he’s come to grab more of his things, instead.

 

At the inquest, Kellam makes a point to threaten Don if he slanders Toad. Alex, meanwhile, informs Mickey about Jessica’s lie, and encourages him to get the truth out of her on the stand.

 

On the stand, Don questions Toad about his relationship status with Cassie at the time of her death. Toad claims he saw Cassie a few days before the party, but not that night. Jessica is then asked the same questions, and lies through her teeth, insisting she didn’t see Cassie that night either. Too bad the police had questioned several of Cassie’s friends who testified that Cassie HAD gone to crash Toad’s party the night of her death.

 

The testimony becomes even more inflammatory when the medical examiner reveals that Cassie was three months pregnant at the time of her death. Worse still for Toad, Don calls a passerby who was on his boat the night of the party, and distinctly remembers seeing and especially hearing Toad, Cassie, and Jessica on Toad’s boat that night. He recalled hearing them arguing on the shore, before continuing onto their boat, and remembered hearing Jessica’s and Cassie’s names that night, particularly. OOPS!

 

Back at UH, Josh senses something is up, as Jessica hasn’t been to see him for a number of days. Marie simply tells him she’s in some trouble, but will be okay soon.

 

And what trouble it is. Realizing how deep he’s in now that there are eyewitnesses, Toad asks to be put back on the stand. Once there, Toad admits he did actually see Cassie that night, and that after they dropped Jessica off at the shore, he and Cassie carried on arguing on the boat for a bit. Cassie admitted she was pregnant and insisted they get married. Toad refused, stating that he didn’t love her, then the wave hit, Cassie fell overboard, and Toad dove in to try to find her (unsuccessfully).

Jess takes the stand immediately after and corroborates what she was present for that night. Don makes a point to the jury that Toad and Jessica had both lied under oath. Don is now certain that Toad and Jess are GUILTY!!!1 Cassie may have drowned, but was likely knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, so the trick is for the jury to decide if the blow was inflicted intentionally, or accidentally. The jury believes Cassie was knocked out by someone, and Don has Tod and Jessica arrested for Cassie’s murder.

 

Alex goes to Marie to tell her of Jessica’s arrest, hoping Marie will go to Jessica’s side, as she was closer to the girl, but Marie is insistent that Alex do so. Alex presses to know why, thinking Marie’s once again pushing for Alex to play father figure to Jessica again. Marie instead blurts out that Alex IS Jessica’s father. Alex, shocked, asks how Marie knows, and Marie tells him the rest: because Marie is Jessica’s mother! SUDDENLY IT ALL MAKES SENSE! Marie admits she got pregnant by Alex in New York during an edition of “World’s Worst BDSM Sessions”. Marie ran off (presumably after seeing Alex throw his brother off a balcony), and had the baby in a convent. She knows Jessica is that baby because she gave the baby a medallion and Jess has that medallion etc. etc.

Alex wonders why Marie gave up their baby, as he would’ve married her. Marie fires back that she wouldn’t have married HIM. Alex is BIG mad, and goes off to the jail to see his kid. Alex doesn’t reveal the truth to her at that moment, instead comforting her and telling Jessica that she’s very special to him. Jessica appreciates the comfort, not questioning his motivation like she constantly does with Marie.

 

Josh is starting to remember some things about the night of his beating, but they’re patchy. He recalls wanting to kill Kellam (that’s more a general mood in Salem, though, so not hard to recall), and then planning to see it through (okay, that’s a little different). It’s only when Mickey tells him of Jessica and Toad’s arrest for Cassie’s murder that Josh’s memory is jogged in a dream: he saw Cassie fall off the boat, and saw Toad jump off the boat after her. Josh remembers going to jump in to follow suit, then wakes up in shock. He must see Marie immediately!

 

Toad and Jessica are released on bail, and Alice and Tom offer her a place to stay until she’s acquitted. Toad, on the other hand, goes home to Kellam, but insists he’ll be moving out the second the trial is over, blaming Kellam for telling Toad to lie to the cops in the first place. When Liz finds out that Kellam is responsible for Toad lying to the cops and getting himself in this huge mess, Liz has ANOTHER go at her father, telling him that she’s moving out as well.

 

 

 

 

Liz is frustrated by her father’s fixation on women he has to manipulate in order to get close to, and orders him to stop chasing after Marlena. She calls out his double standard of chasing after married women he works for when she can’t be with Neil because it might hurt his “image”.

 

Trish actually has something to do for once, and makes an appointment with Neil at the hospital, not because she’s unwell, but because she overheard Neil’s conversation at Doug’s and is concerned he’s slipping back into gambling again. Neil pretends nothing is wrong, which is so convincing that Trish immediately offers Neil money to cover his gambling debts he claims he doesn’t have. Neil thanks her and says he already took care of the debt he claimed he didn’t have five seconds ago. Trish is certain that Neil’s slipping back into gambling to fill the void that losing Liz left in his life, and urges Neil to go talk to Liz again.

Neil actually takes Trish’s advice, and calls Liz. Liz agrees to see him, but when Neil tries to convince Liz to forgive him and resume their relationship (now that Kellam’s campaign is over, there really isn’t anything standing in their way), Liz refuses once again. Neil maintains he didn’t take Kellam’s bribe, and accepts responsibility for their breakup, but Liz still can’t get past the pain the breakup caused her.

 

This changes once Liz discovers Kellam convinced her brother, Toad, to lie to the police about what happened the night of Cassie’s death. Suddenly the fog lifts, and she realizes that, OH YEAH, Thing 1 and Thing 2 probably were lying about Neil taking the bribe money, as well! So she goes to pay Neil a visit to try to smooth things over. Neil is thrilled by Liz’s change of heart, but as they’re about to kiss, the phone rings: the bank has refused his $20k loan to cover his gambling debts. Because Neil won’t tell Liz what’s wrong, she figures Neil is shutting her out again, and she leaves AGAIN. Sturm-and-Drang-o-rama.

 

 

 

 

 

Mary and Leslie are having a screaming match over Mary’s ultimatum about telling Chris the truth: that Alex owns the land the marina is on. At this exact moment, Chris shows up, wondering why they’re using their outdoor voices indoors. Mary leaves, giving Leslie those threatening eyes, and Leslie breaks down and tells Chris that she’s been lying to him. Without even having to say it, Chris immediately guesses that Alex owns the land, and lashes out at her for dealing with the sleazeball, even announcing he’s giving up the project as a result. He notes that, without Mary’s pressure, Leslie would never have told Chris the truth, citing Leslie’s previous closeness with Alex. He feels he can no longer trust Leslie, and plans to go on the road alone to hawk his solar generator.

 

Chris heads immediately over to Alex’s, where he announces he’s breaking his lease. Alex threatens to sue for breach of contract, but Chris suggests Alex sue Leslie instead, since she’s the one who made the deal in the first place. Alex thinks Leslie should keep to their agreement, since “two unemployed newlyweds is very sad”. Chris threatens that Alex will one day get what he deserves (you’re in for a long wait, Chris).

 

Mary is next in line to visit Alex. She finalizes their divorce, while Alex informs her for Chris’ visit, and accuses Mary of trying to split up Chris and Leslie, something she doesn’t deny. However, Mary counters that Alex himself has plenty of cause to want Leslie and Chris apart.

Before leaving for his solar panel sales tour, Chris asks Leslie what she’ll do while he’s gone. Leslie says she’ll wait for Chris, but when Chris has a tepid reaction to her desire to pick up where they left off, Leslie takes her engagement ring off, certain that she’s lost him for good. At first, Chris tells her to keep the ring, but Leslie tells him she won’t if it doesn’t mean anything to Chris.

 

Mary’s next order of business is to visit Max, to try to scam a job at Anderson from Chandler Corp. Max is his usual sleazy self, and is sure they can find room for a “beautiful woman like her” in the company (GAG). Afterward, Max pays Leslie a visit to offer HER a position at the Anderson plant as well! Leslie is about to tell Max to shove it, but Maxwell leaves before she can.

 

 

 

 

Lee and Kyle exist again, with Lee teasing Kyle about his attraction to Maggie. When Maggie comes to visit, Kyle immediately leaves, and Lee makes immediate mention of how close they seem to Maggie, and can’t understand why Kyle would bolt from the room like that. In the therapy room later on, Maggie tries to help Kyle, but is shouted down. Maggie leaves, hurt and confused. Oh Maggie, whenever in doubt, if Lee is involved, always assume Lee did something.

 

Lee is delighted she’s wounded Kyle’s ego enough that he’s rejecting Maggie, because apparently Lee is only happy when everyone around her is miserable. Maggie admits to Mickey that she’d become too attached to Kyle, seeing so much of herself in him. She tells Mickey that she wanted to inspire him to live a full, active life with a disability, having her own experience to draw from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So...I have to say, things are moving at a CLIP. It's shocking for me to see so much movement, considering Tomlin's second run as HW was so much slower-paced than this. Yet somehow, I feel like they're hitting every beat? The stories are becoming a bit more interesting and complex than they were under Laemmle, so i will give them props for that, though I'm less than thrilled by the continued nonsense surrounding Kellam. At least his kids are wising up to him.

Edited March 9, 2021 by beebs

[Khan]

 

IA.  There is a sense that Tomlin and Lisanti were working to wrap up and move on from Laemmle's stories as quickly as possible.

[Franko]

We'll have to start a new tracker, this time for After-Massacre Improvements. No. 1 was killing off Cassie.

 

Marlena's making an impressive bid for Dumbass of the Fortnight. Did she really think the grass was greener on her side of the fence? Or is she just that pissed at Don?

 

Never mind. Dumbass of the Fortnight clearly goes to Jessica, with Toad a close second.

 

Good God, how many times are they going to rely on this scene device?

 

Okay, I have to admit, this is pretty exciting.

 

And so's this.

 

Personally, I think Jessica's subconsciously figured out the truth and likes daddy more.

 

 

[Paul Raven]

Poteet/Lisanti dropped the ball with Maggie /Kyle as it got once a week play through Nov. 

Lee was pretty much absent also. Doug and Julie were low in appearances also.

Guess they were busy reworking other stories and figured some stuff could be backburnered.

Mike was around to tease Maggie about Kyle and re-bond with Trish.

Chris departed Salem Nov 12th which left Mary and Leslie little to do. Leslie was on once for the rest of the month for a bitchy scene with nuMary about getting dumped by Chris.

NuMary did her 8 eps and vanished.

[AbcNbc247]

I don't get what they were going for with Maggie/Kyle either. Especially considering that Tomlin/Poteet-Lisanti were the ones who gave Maggie a child. It would have a lot more sense if they had had an affair and Maggie got pregnant, as opposed to the surrogate mother stuff.

 

And were they planning on making Jessica, the young ingenue at this time?

Edited March 9, 2021 by AbcNbc247